Lighting fixture



Jan-4, l944- R. D. WINKELMEYER v2,338,559

LIGHT ING` FIXTURE Filed July 18, 1941 Patented Jan. 4, 1944 LIGHTING FIXTURE Robert D. Winkelmeyer, Anderson, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application July 18, 1941, Serial No. 403,009

(Cl. 24d- 7.35)

1 Claim.

My invention relates to lighting fixtures and has particular application to iixtures used on vehicles.

Interior lighting iixtures such as are found in passenger automobiles and motor coaches in use today usually have a lens or cover glass assembled in a bezel, the assembly being removable to provide access to the bulb located behind the lens. In fixtures in use today these lens assemblies are usually completely detached from the fixture in this removed position. It often happens during the removal of the assembly that it is dropped accidentally resulting in breakage of the fragile lens, or that it is mislaid while work is being done on the rest of the xture.

rThe principal object of my invention is to provide a mounting for the lens or cover glass assembly of a lighting xture which will permit access to the bulb in the iixture but which will not permit the assembly to fail thereby insuring against breakage of the lens or glass.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide a mounting for the cover glass assembly which attaches the assembly to the xture base in such a manner that the lens assembly may be removed from the base suiiciently to allow access to the base, as by a maintenance man, but, in this removed position, the assemby' remains attached to the base. In the application shown, the mounting means takes the form of a pair of links. One end of each link is fastened to the base, and the other end is attached to the lens assembly.

In Fig. l of the drawing, an application of my invention is shown in longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a View in section substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing details of the mounting and lens assembly.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the Xture shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary views showing modications of my invention.

In the drawing, lll indicates a base plate of any suitable material, such as pressed sheet metal, secured to the wall or ceiling of a room or vehicle body by screws I2 which extend through holes I4 in the base plate I0. Mounted at or near the center of the base plate is a reiiector and socket assembly indicated generally by IB. For convenience in providing easy access to the bulb lil in the socket, I may preferably, although not necessarily, mount the socket at an angle to the vertical as shown in Fig. 1.

The mounting forming a part of my invention comprises a pair of links 2i) hingedly mounted to base plate I0 as by rivets 22, and similarly fastened to a frame or bezel 24 by rivets 26. The frame or bezel 24 supports the lens or cover glass 28 and may be secured thereto by a plurality of clamps 30. These clamps are held in engagement with frame 24 by any suitable mea-ns such as rivets 32.

The frame and cover glass assembly is held in position over the bulb by two screws 34 which pass through reinforced openings 36 in frame 24 and which engage threaded members 38 provided on base plate lll. This threaded member may be an ordinary nut welded or otherwise secured to the base plate IB. A channel 4l! is provided in plate l@ to receive a gasket 42. This gasket serves both as a seal for keeping dirt out of the lixture and as a cushion to prevent breaking of lens 2li in assembly by pulling screws 34 up too tight.

The modication shown in Fig. 4 is substantially the same as the hinge shown in the other figures except that the edges of base plate I0 are recessed as shown at 44 to permit a closer lit between frame 24 and the hanged or upturned edges of plate It. As seen in this figure, the recessed portion receives the link 2d when the xture is in its assembled condition.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 illustrates another construction for holding the frame and cover glass assembly together. A substantially J- shaped clip 4G is secured to frame 24 by a rivet 43 which engages one leg of the clip. The other leg engages the lens or cover glass 28. Rivet 48 is hollow to provide a passage for screw 553, which is kept from falling out of rivet 4S by a retaining means such as hairpin clip 52, the two legs of which are shown in cross section. Screw 50 holds the frame and lens assembly in place by engaging any suitable female screw member such as sheet metal threadless nut 54. Note that in this modification, gasket 42 is secured, as by gluing, directly to the plane or flat portion of base plate lil', instead of being provided with a retaining channel 49, as in Fig. 1. Threadless nut 54 is held in place on base plate l by a T-shaped head on the lower leg 56 of this sheet metal member, the sides of which engage the sides of a slot 53 in upturned flange 6;, or base plate It to keep member 54 from falling out endwise.

Although the operation of my invention iseasily understood from the drawing arid the foregoing description, a brief rsum may be made here. I/Vhen it is desired to remove the lens or cover glass assembly for any reason, such as for the purpose of replacing a burned out bulb, the screws 34 are removed and the frame and lens assembly drops down and away from the base plate, being nevertheless still secured thereto and kept from falling by the links 2l). Easy access can then be had to bulb I8 for its removal or replacement o1' for working on the socket. When the operation to be performed has been completed the frame and lens assembly is merely swung back into position and the screws 34 are replaced.

I claim:

In a ceiling lighting xture, a base plate, a light source secured to said base plate, a light transmitting cover, and means for mounting said cover beneath said base plate and light source including a frame to receive said cover and means to detaehably connect said frame 'to said base plate,

and means to hold said frame and cover in spaced suspended relation to said base plate when said frame is disconnected therefrom including a pair of links, peripheral flanges on said base plate and frame adapted to overlap one another when said frame is connected to said base plate with the flange on said frame located outside of the flange on said base plate and means for pivotally connecting the opposite ends of said links respectively to said anges on said frame and base plate with said links extending along opposite sides of said frame and housed between said iianges when said frame is connected to said base plate and concealed by the flange on said frame.

ROBERT D. WINKELMEYER. 

